Someone's Villan
by Thedragon456123
Summary: When Johnny is attacked violently by an angry drunk, things go very wrong. Rated T for lots and lots of blood. (Universe Kookie)
1. Chapter 1

_Not mine._

Johnny walked into a bar. People turned to look at him as he entered. Girls swarmed him. They knew this was his favorite spot to come for a drink. People always waited for him here. "Jarvis. Invite Tony Stark to join me for a drink."

"Doing it now, sir." Jarvis replied obediently.

He sat down at a stool. The bartender gave him his usual. No charge. Johnny brought in so much business that he was given free drinks every time he visited. He laughed, flirting with a hot girl that had taken the seat next to him, telling her funny stories, and making jokes about the other three.

"Yeah. Ben's head was completely stuck! He ended up having to pay for a broken swing set." Jess laughed at Johnny's story, then turned, and nudged Johnny, pointing at someone behind him. Johnny turned casually, looking at the man approaching.

He had intense brown eyes, and black hair. He grabbed Johnny's collar, throwing him against the counter. Jess jumped back, gasping. Johnny struggled, not wanting to use his fire for fear of hurting the man. "Jarvis! Identify!" Johnny gasped. A display appeared in his vision. Jason Ranken. Johnny didn't see anything strange about him on his records.

Jason's fist connected with Johnny's face. Johnny cried out as pain exploded in his jaw. "You killed 'er!" He yelled. Johnny could see the rage in his eyes. "You killed 'er an' I bet you didn't notice!"

"What did I do? Who did I kill?" Johnny demanded, squirming helplessly under Jason's strong grip.

"My sis'er!" He yelled, throwing Johnny against the opposite wall. "You killed my sis'er," he said, "'e died in a fire. You 'ere flyin' by 'bout two weeks 'go. You got to close to the 'partment, an' it caught fire. She died. I lived." The other people that had been standing by murmured, shifting.

Johnny steadied himself on the wall. He touched his throbbing jaw, and his fingers came away bloody. He looked at Jason. "I am so sorry."

He meant it. Johnny had never considered how many people were killed every time he tried to save the world. He always felt so heroic. He never realized that he could be someone's _villain._

Two buff guys grabbed Johnny by his arms, dragging him towards the door. "'m not." Jason replied curtly.

**Chapter one gone. Anyone that is confused about things that happen in this should read other fics that I have written, as they all happen in Universe Kookie (explained in bio). Also, after finishing this fic, you should read _Dinner Plates_ (by me). Thanks for reading. Yeah I know I haven't written an explanation for the Jarvis thing yet, but that will come later.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: None of these people are mine, except for that OC._

Two buff guys grabbed Johnny by his arms, dragging him towards the door. "'m not," Jason replied curtly.

One of the men holding Johnny on his left side adjusted his grip on Johnny's arm, until his fingers slipped between the bone, the muscle, and the artery, causing white hot pain to course through his arm. Johnny screamed, writhing, trying hard to move the man's fingers, and squirm out of his grip. Fighting only made the pain worse, so he decided to stay still, and let himself be dragged away in a pain filled haze. He was in too much pain to concentrate on summoning fire.

He could hear the two guys talking. The man on Johnny's right said, "That was impressive. When did you learn to do that?"

"Found it on the internet. That's the first time I have ever tried it. Guess it works."

"Show me," said the man on the right.

_No! Don't show him. Please don't show him! _Johnny's thoughts were fuzzy, and desperate. Despite Johnny's mental pleads, the man on the left reached over with his free arm, and adjusted the fingers of the man on the right. "Good. Now squeeze hard."

The pain flared through him again, but twice as bad. He screamed again, and he must have blacked out, because next thing he knew, he was sitting on the ground, with his wrists chained above his head to a chain-link fence. He recognized the area he was in as the alley behind the bar.

Johnny pulled on the chains hard. Nothing. He still couldn't reach his fire. He heard a cold laugh, and looked up to see Jason standing in front of him, with a large group of people. "Not everyon' waitin' for you at this bar are your fans. Most of thes' people 're like me. They've all lost someon' 'cause of you and your team."

Johnny stopped fighting. He scanned the faces of the crowed. They looked devastated, angry. _Maybe I deserve this._ He closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

The first blow came, and then the second, each one worse than the last. Johnny watched each person with pity. He could feel his ribs cracking with one kick to his side. His voice was horse from screaming.

Jason picked up a bottle with the wide end broken. He turned his back to Johnny, taking five slow steps before whirling around, and throwing the bottle like a knife, straight at his abdomen. Johnny twisted his body best he could to avoid the sharp glass, but he couldn't stop it from ripping a gash in his side from his belly button to the bottom of his ribs.

He screamed. His entire body convulsed, and he could already feel the hot blood running down his side, and soaking his shirt. _I'm going to die. _But Johnny was okay with that. He had killed so many people. It was best if he died.

Johnny managed to look up, and see one thing that terrified and filled him with hope. A rust-colored wolf was peering around the corner at him. Johnny stared, wide-eyed at it. Jason saw him staring, and turned around to see what he was looking at. Before Jason could see it, The Wolf turned, and left Johnny.

**So now is the time to decide. Will Johnny die, or will he live? Review, and tell me what you think. If no one reviews, I'll go ahead and kill him.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Not mine._

As soon as Tony had gotten the message from Johnny to join him at the bar, he had put on his suit. The women loved it when he wore his suit. Now he was landing just outside the Skyline bar. A majestic, dark-orange wolf was standing calmly outside the bar. People would pass by it without seeing it. One person walked straight through it. It was staring directly at Tony.

It turned and ran around the corner. Tony followed it quickly to the back of the bar, where a large group of people were crowded around a chain-link fence.

"Move!" Stark yelled at them. They all turned to look at him, then ran away. Tony looked at the fence and gasped. Johnny was chained to the fence in a puddle of his own blood, unconscious. "Oh my god," he muttered. He lifted the mask on his face to see the Torch better. His face was covered in dirt and blood. Tear trails were outlined in dirt. He touched his cheek with his metal-covered hand. "What did you get yourself into?"

Tony looked where the wolf was standing last he saw it. It was gone.

Tony quickly called Reed.

"Reed, you need to get to the alley behind Skyline bar ASAP! Bring medical supplies. Bring the others… Its Johnny," he hung up.

He looked back at Johnny, who had opened his unusually bright eyes, and was watching him weakly. "Glad you… finally… showed up," he groaned, "you missed… one… hell of a party."

"I see that," Tony replied, "I called Reed. He, Sue, and Ben are on their way."

"Glad you… weren't too drunk… to use… common sense," Johnny groaned again.

"I didn't even go into the bar before I came back here. Why would you think I'm drunk?"

"I can… smell your-" he slipped out of consciousness before he finished.

Tony knelt next to the Storm kid, ripping away part of his shirt to get a better look at the gash in his side. He didn't want to melt away the chains, because he didn't know if Johnny was impervious to his lasers or not. He didn't want to risk further damage. There were still scars on his wrists from his incident with the lab in that strange town called Night Vale.

Tony heard Reed and the others approaching. "Stark! What…" Reed stopped when he saw Johnny.

"No," Sue muttered. "Is he-"

"He's alive," Tony assured her.

"Ben. Can you get these chains off without hurting him?" Reed asked, turning to Ben.

"I can try, Reed," Ben rumbled. He carefully snapped the chains, and Johnny slumped limply to the ground.

"Johnny," Sue knelt next to him. She stroked his dirty hair gently. "You're going to be okay."

"Thanks… Sue," Johnny's voice was weak, and full of pain. He groaned as Reed touched his side. "Think… ribs are… broken."

"It's okay Johnny. You just rest," Reed said, looking at his younger brother. "Sue, go into the bar and find some form of alcohol. Try to avoid beers and such, try for rubbing alcohol. If you can't find that, grab the closest you can get. Also grab a wooden ladle or something like that," Sue ran for the entrance to the bar.

Reed looked at Stark. "I have to clean this out," Realization slowly dawned on Tony. This was going to hurt Johnny. A lot. Tony tried to radiate calm, to keep Johnny feeling that way, but he couldn't help thinking that too much pain at one time could kill the kid.

"We have no other choice, Reed. Johnny's strong. He'll make it."

Sue came running back to them with a small bottle of clear liquid, and a wooden ladle.

"Thanks Sue," Reed said, taking the items from her. "Can you and Tony hold Johnny? This is going to hurt, and I don't want him to hurt himself by moving too much,"

"Sure, Reed," Sue knelt by Johnny. "Reed has to clean this wound. I am warning you that it will hurt. Here. Bite down on this." Sue took the ladle from Reed, and put it between Johnny's teeth. Then she and Tony held him still while Reed poured the liquid into the wound. Johnny convulsed, biting down hard on the ladle. Blood trickled out of his clenched fist, where his fingernails were penetrating his skin.

"All done," Reed declared, setting the bottle down on the ground. Johnny was trembling violently. His breaths came in quick, shaky gasps. Sue held his head in her lap, stroking his hair comfortingly while Reed bandaged the wound.

His skin was covered in cuts and already forming bruises. Ben lifted him up gently, and the sudden movement caused him to lose consciousness.

"Let's get back to the Baxter building. Thanks for your help, Tony," Reed said.

"No prob," said Tony, "Call me if you need another genius to help you out."

"I will."

Stark put on his mask, and flew away, and the four of them made their way silently out of the alley. Crowds cheering of fans and news crews were waiting for them. Sue held them back with a force field. Everyone quieted when they saw Johnny, bloody and unconscious.

They made their way quickly to the car that was waiting for them, also shielded so no one could get in their way. Cries of "What happened?" and "Is he dead?" reached them. Sue choked back a sob, and Reed put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be okay," Reed whispered, "I'll take care of him."

The four got in the car, and the force fields shrunk so they only surrounded the car. Then they made the almost endless drive to the Baxter building.

As soon as they arrived, Ben carried Johnny quickly into the building. He laid Johnny gently on the elevator floor, and left to take the stairs. Sue stared down at him worriedly. How could someone have done this to Johnny? She touched the line of bruises on the side of his face. Just seeing him like that filled her with rage. The elevator dinged, and Reed gently picked Johnny up, and laid him on a table, attaching an IV to his arm, attaching mutable monitors to measure his heart rate and oxygen levels. Sue sighed, and sat down in a chair next to her brother, holding his limp hand.

**Last chance. Your review could save a life. Johnny will die in the next chapter if you don't review. Or you could tell me to kill him. I might not kill him, but I might kill him as well. It depends on my mood.**


	4. Chapter 4

_None of these people are mine._

Ben opened the door to Johnny's room where Sue laid, her head resting in the crook of her arm on the bed. Johnny's hand lay limply next to Sue's face, as if she had dropped it when she fell asleep. The kid looked so pale, so still. It disturbed him every time he went to check on Matchstick.

"Sue," he whispered, "wake up." He shook her shoulder.

Sue sat up quickly. Her eyes had deep circles under them. Ben knew she hadn't been sleeping lately, and he hated waking her up, but he didn't want her to hurt her neck sleeping in that position. "Ben?" she asked sleepily, "I fell asleep, didn't I?"

"Yeah Susie, you did. How 'bout you go eat, and get some real sleep. I'll stay with flame boy." Ben tried to make this sound like a command.

"But Ben, I-"

"Sue, you're not going to be much good for him if you don't take care of yourself."

"Fine," Sue pouted. She got up, and left the room, leaving Ben to watch her little brother. Ben stared at Johnny with concern. The large, colorful bruises on the left side of his face didn't look any better. Ben knew it would more time than the two days for him to heal, but he wasn't a patient man. Each labored breath the kid took was torture to Ben.

After a couple restless hours, Reed had declared that Johnny's condition was stable, and allowed him to rest in his room where he would be more comfortable. He still hadn't woken up, and it worried Ben.

Reed entered the room quickly. "Wow Ben, I didn't think anyone could get Sue to rest."

"It wasn't too hard. I just told her that it would be easier to help Johnny if she took a break."

"What about…me?" Johnny said weakly.

Ben and Reed immediately turned to him. "Johnny!" Reed exclaimed, "You're awake!"

"No shit…Sherlock." He groaned. "How long-"

"Two days," Ben interrupted, "You had us all terrified." Ben realized that Johnny still hadn't opened his eyes. He had to make sure the kid was okay. "Open your eyes, kid."

Johnny did, blinking multiple times, before rubbing his eyes, and blinking again. "I can't…"

"There is a possibility that the right blow to the head could knock out the installations Stark did, allowing your blindness to return. I'll talk to him about fixing that if you want." Reed shined a light in Johnny's eyes, than took it away quickly. Johnny groaned again. "Tell me what hurts."

Johnny hesitated, and then curtly said, "Breathing hurts." He broke into a fit of coughing.

"On a scale of one to ten-" Reed stopped when Johnny sent a killer glare in Reed's direction.

"Eight," he said.

Reed blinked. He had Johnny on powerful pain-killers. The number shouldn't have been so high. "Are you sure?"

Johnny thought for a moment, then corrected himself, "Eight-point-seven-five."

Reed frowned, then went about checking to see if all the equipment was working properly. He hadn't noticed that Ben had left the room until he returned with Sue in tow. She went immediately to her brother's side, taking his hand.

"Hey…Sue." He smiled weakly. "That is Sue…right?"

"It's me," she said. Suddenly, Johnny started coughing up blood. Sue cried out, while Reed leapt into action, first making sure he wouldn't choke on his own blood by turning him on his side. "Ben, call 911! Fast!" Reed shouted. He looked up at one of the monitors. Johnny's pulse had quickened dramatically in the last couple seconds. His blood oxygen was still hanging in the seventies. Eventually, Johnny calmed down, and lay still, taking deep, but shaky gulps of air. Blood was smeared across his face.

After a couple minutes, people with a stretcher ran into the room, whisking Johnny away, and leaving Ben, Sue, and Reed to follow on their own.

**I know I said he would die in this chapter, but I decided to be nice, and give people more time. Don't go thinking that means he's off the hook. Our Johnny still has a long way to go.**


	5. Chapter 5

_These aren't mine. Please stop asking._

Dr. Carrie called Sue, Reed, and Ben over to her, pulling up x-rays of Johnny's right side on her laptop. A spider web of cracks was spread over his ribs. One of the ribs had snapped out of place completely. Dr. Carrie pointed at the displaced rib. "The fractures will heal, but it is this we are worried about. The dislodged rib has punctured his lung."

Reed gasped. "What are you going to do about it, doctor?" He asked.

"We will have to do surgery for sure, but how we will go about that is a different story. As Dr. Richards must have noticed by now, any medicines or painkillers we try to give Johnny are burned away by his high temperature before they can take effect. Without the assistance of any painkillers, he has to face the blunt of his injuries. We are worried that if we sedate him for the surgery, he could slip into a coma, and eventually die. We say this because we will have to use very strong sedatives to override his extreme heat, and that might become too much for him to be able to wake up later."

"Please tell me there is something you can about this," Sue said, barely controlling her terror.

"The easiest and safest thing we can do would be to perform the operation with him fully conscious." Sue gasped, and shook her head. "We could also take the risk of proceeding as normal which could kill him. Or we could try one other thing. We have recently uncovered a serum that should cool down his core temperature to that of a normal human. Once we have done that, we could finish the rest of the procedure with him on powerful painkillers. The only problem is that we don't know how his body will react to the serum. It could kill him."

"I will ask Johnny about it, and come back to you with his answer," Sue said, already going back into her brother's room. Johnny was lying in bed, with his eyes closed, but Sue knew he was awake. "Johnny?" she asked gently.

"That's me," He answered after a quick pause. "What did you want to ask me about?" His voice was muffled by the oxygen mask on his face.

"Well, one of your ribs had been displaced, and it punctured your lung."

"Get on with it," Johnny said, irritated.

"They have to do surgery to fix it, but they are afraid you could fall into a coma and die if they sedate you. They say you would have the lowest chance of death if they just keep you awake during the surgery."

"Well that's happy."

"You have other choices as well. They could sedate you, despite the consequences, and risk death. Or they could use this serum they found that's supposed to lower your body temperature, and keep you cool."

Johnny's eyes went wide. He shook his head. "Not that last one! Tell them to destroy any record of that stuff!" He looked terrified. Sue could tell he had heard of the serum before.

"What's wrong with it, Johnny?"

He shook his head, refusing to talk about it. "So I either have someone cut me open and fix my insides while I'm awake, or I could do it when I'm not awake, and risk dying."

"Yep."

"Too many people need me for me to die. If I died, who knows what sort of strange things would destroy the world." Johnny took a deep breath, and then said, "I'll have to take the first choice."

"It would hurt."

"I know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Sue sighed, and left the room to talk to Dr. Carrie. When she returned, she looked at Johnny, crossing her arms. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Sue."

"God, Johnny! Why do you have to be so noble all of a sudden?"

Johnny threw up his hands in surrender, his face contorting in pain as he did. "Sorry Sue," He gasped, "I just think that this is the best decision."

Sue sighed and said, "They will do the surgery tomorrow morning. I hope you know what you're asking."

"Could you ask Stark to fix my eyes before then?"

"Of course. I'll call him."

"Thank you." Johnny closed his eyes, resting until his ordeal came.

Stark had showed up a couple hours later, opening the small hatch in the side of his head, and immediately getting to work, twisting, and replacing the complex wires connected to his brain. He didn't talk to Johnny the entire time, for he probably wouldn't be able to put together a comprehendible response. After a little more than an hour, Tony stopped, and closed the small hatch.

"It will take a couple minutes for your sight to return. I added some upgrades so you can get better internet connection. There are also a couple other surprises, but I will let you find out on your own."

Johnny nodded absently, his vision already blurring back to normal. He blinked a couple times, focusing on his surroundings. He was in a bed in a hospital room, surrounded by annoying machines that blinked and beeped. The strange pressure around his nose and mouth was an oxygen mask. There was an IV in his arm, and he was missing his shirt.

"Now that we have that over with, I have to know. Why did you think I was drunk?" Tony asked.

Johnny scoffed, "I'm pretty sure anyone could smell that breath of yours."

Tony looked almost franticly at Reed, who was nodding slowly, avoiding Tony's gaze. "Also," Johnny declared, "Jarvis may or may not have told me about you and Pepper…"

"Shut up!"

Johnny laughed, but his laughter quickly turned into a fit of coughing. Tony's cell phone beeped. "I have to go," he said quickly, "Busy schedule." He left the room before anyone could react.

"I'm going to sleep," Johnny yawned, "Big day tomorrow."

Sue nodded, still worried about her little brother. "Good night, Johnny."

He was already out.

The next morning, Johnny was shaken awake by sudden movement. He was being rolled down the hospital halls, surrounded by nurses and doctors, who were conversing with each other in hurried voices, comparing charts and numbers that sounded like jibberish to him.

They stopped in a white room, and Johnny was carefully lifted, and moved onto a hard, flat surface, his wrists and ankles restrained in a way that reminded him painfully of his time in Night Vale. "Trust me," Dr. Carrie said, "You'll need it."

They made sure the mask was secure over his face, and that all the monitors were turned on and functioning. Looking to his right, Johnny cold see another room, separated from him by thick glass, with maybe ten chairs in neat rows. Sue, Reed, and Ben were there, Ben taking up two seats. Sue was watching him worriedly. Johnny tried to smile at her, but it probably looked more like a grimace.

"Are you ready?" Dr. Carrie asked, putting on plastic gloves.

Johnny nodded, barely holding back the fear that had welled up inside of him. Cold metal touched his skin, making him shiver.

**Not too late to kill Johnny. He might not survive this. Reviews save lives. Thanks to Deanrogers, SwifteForeverAndAlways, and Wayward Hope for following this. If your confused about Night Vale, you should read NALRCC. Its explained in there. **


	6. Chapter 6

_None of these people are mine._

"I hate this, Reed," Sue whispered, her stomach turning as her brother's face contorted in pain. "Why couldn't he have let them use the serum?"

Reed put his arm around Sue's shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder. "Johnny Storm is a stubborn little boy," Reed said.

Sue trained her eyes on the hands of the surgeon, as she slowly removed shattered shards of bone in order to get to Johnny's torn lung. As the hand came away from inside of him, Sue saw it was covered in blood. "I hate this."

"I know," Reed said, "We all do."

Sue wished that the glass that separated them from Johnny was soundproof. The occasional groans that slipped between Johnny's lips were torture to her. She could see his body go ridged as one of the surgeons pulled out the largest shard of bone. "That was the one that penetrated his lung. They should start stitching it up now. Then, all they have to do is put everything back where it is supposed to be, and close the opening." Reed had been narrating the process the entire time, which Sue was grateful for. She liked being able to know exactly what they were doing to her brother and why.

On cue, the surgeons started stitching his lung back together. Johnny pulled weekly on his restraints, groaning.

"Quite a shame isn't it?" a new voice said, chuckling.

Sue spun around. Her jaw dropped. She was staring into the face of Victor VonDoom. She didn't even hear him come in. "Ben! Reed!" she snapped. They both turned around, but Susan wasn't waiting for them to respond. She had already formed a force field, keeping Doom from moving.

This was the second time he had showed up when they all thought he was dead. It was getting old. "Relax," Victor said, "I just wanted to check up on our friend here, and then be on my merry way."

Ben leapt out of his seat, and Sue removed the force field just as Ben's fist sent Victor flying out a conveniently-placed window. "You can be on your way then," Ben grumbled.

"We don't have time to deal with him right now. I'm calling SHIELD." Reed got out his cell phone, and stepped outside the room.

The surgeons had stopped working. They, along with Johnny, were staring at Sue. "It's fine," she said. Then she looked at Johnny. His entire body was tense, and he was staring at the broken window, as if he expected Doom to come flying back up. "Relax, Johnny. We don't have to deal with him this time. Reed's calling SHIELD. They'll probably put the Avengers onto it." She nodded at the surgeons, and they continued their work.

She heard Johnny groan, and quickly turned away. She couldn't watch this. Instead, Sue looked out the window. An unmarked black van had pulled up next to where Victor was lying, unmoving. Those SHIELD people seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

As Johnny groaned again, Sue walked over to the corner of the room, and slid to the floor with her back against the wall, resting her head on her knees. Ben took his place, standing protectively by the door.

Reed came back inside, and sat down in a chair, focusing on the operation. The three of them stayed in their places for another hour, before the surgeons closed up the wound, and declared they were finished.

Johnny looked terrible. That was the only way to describe him. His skin was beaded with sweat, and his torso was covered in blood, which was being cleaned off by some nurses. He laid there with his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of the restraints on his wrists and ankles being removed. He was lifted up onto a stretcher, and rolled out of the room. Still no reaction.

Sue followed him to his room, where he was moved onto is bed. She took a seat next to him, taking his hand. He groaned softly as he was shaken from momentary unconsciousness. "Johnny? You okay?" Sue asked. He didn't answer.

"You should let him rest," Dr. Carrie said from behind Sue.

Sue didn't answer her. She rested her head on Johnny's bed, and quickly drifted into a hard-earned sleep.

**DeanRogers has voiced an opinion on weather Johnny should live or not, but it will take more than that. Keep reviewing, and we will see.**


	7. Chapter 7

_You know what I mean._

God it hurt. Johnny could barely think straight. Why did he choose this? Why couldn't he just suck it up and use the serum? Even risking death would be better than this. Every inch of his skin was on fire. He wasn't altogether sure he would survive this. Knowing that there was no chance of turning back now, Johnny had let his body settle into a steady throb of pain.

He couldn't tell how much time had passed before he heard a commotion in the next room. He turned his head weakly, just as Ben's fist sent Victor VonDoom flying out the window. On instinct, his entire body tensed, ready for a fight. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight anyone in his current condition, but he couldn't help being alert.

Sue was talking to him now. She was saying, "Relax, Johnny. We don't have to deal with him this time. Reed's calling SHILED. They'll probably put the Avengers onto it." She had nodded to the surgeons, who had gotten back to work.

Eventually, they declared they were finished. Johnny took a deep, painful breath, and lost consciousness. He woke up maybe a minute later. He was back in his hospital room, with Sue holding his hand. He groaned. "Johnny? You okay?"

He didn't have the energy to respond to her. Another voice by the door, probably addressing Sue, said, "You should let him rest."

Yes. Rest. That's exactly what he needed. Just as he finished thinking this, he drifted to sleep.

Next time he woke up, he was still in his room- no surprise there. He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but quickly fell back onto the bed, panting.

"Whoa. Take it easy, lightning bug," a rough voice said, as two rocky hands helped him sit up. Johnny opened his eyes, and watched Ben's worried face morph into a grin. "Susie's still asleep," he whispered, motioning to Johnny's sister, who was resting her head on the bed, right beside him.

"Not anymore," she said groggily, sitting up. She smiled when she saw her brother awake. "Hey Johnny. How do you feel?"

"I feel pretty okay," he said, realizing that the pain that should be there was considerably toned down, "Not good, but okay."

Sue and Ben shared a relived look. Ben said, "So I guess it worked."

"What worked?" Johnny asked, his eyes flashing between Ben and Sue. That was when he felt it. A horrible cold, flowing through his veins, chilling his core. He started shaking, unable to control himself. He looked at Sue, a wide-eyed look of betrayal splashed across his face. She couldn't meet his eyes. "No…" he muttered. He looked up at Sue again. "How could you?"

"I couldn't watch you in so much pain, and the doctors were afraid of the physical and mental effects that much pain would have on you," Sue explained quickly.

"I was getting better!" Johnny yelled, his panic evident in his voice and face, "You could have asked me!" He probably would have caught on fire in a normal situation, but he couldn't heat up. The serum made him feel cold and empty. His thoughts drifted to Night Vale, but he quickly pulled himself away.

"You would have said no."

"And there's a reason for that!" He was starting to get even more panicked. A monitor started beeping rapidly. Johnny realized it was his own heart rate he was hearing.

"Johnny," Ben said, "You need to calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down now? My sister let them put that _poison _in me…" he took a shaky breath, and looked away.

A nurse entered the room, and Sue shooed her away with one quick motion. She took her brother's hand gently, and put two fingers on her other hand under his chin, forcing him to look into her blue eyes. She said, "Johnny, what's wrong with the serum?"

A tear slid down his cheek, and he looked away from her. "You will tell me eventually," she whispered, "but I'll let you take your time."

He didn't answer, instead letting himself stare off into the distance. Reed came into his room maybe five minutes later. He looked at Sue and whispered, "You told him?"

"He hates me for it," she whispered back.

"You did the right thing."

Johnny curled up into a tight ball on his side with his back to his sister, ignorant of the muffled pain in the wound from the glass bottle. He pulled a blanket tightly around his body, shivering. "Johnny?" Reed walked over beside Johnny, squatting down so he had to look at Reed.

"It's so cold," he muttered, staring at some fixed point on the wall. He buried his face in the blanket, still shivering. In Night Vale, he had woken up feeling an intense cold, and eventually found out about the serum they had put inside of him causing it. It did its job for the first couple days, but then it started getting colder and colder. He would have died if a certain Norse god wasn't there to bring him back.

He couldn't think of it without bringing back horrible memories.

He choked back a broken sob, and slowly fell into sleep.

**I'm not going to explain the whole Night Vale drama, so you should stop waiting for me, and read ****_NALRCC_****. (See what I did there?) Johnny still might die. You might be able to prevent it, but ending this thing sounds pretty good right now. Ha ha. Just messing with you. Sort of. **


	8. A Dead Man Walking

_Not mine._

Sue sat impatiently next to her brother, waiting for him to wake up. Maybe she should have asked him before letting them use the serum, but she just couldn't stand it. They had attached another dose of the serum to his IV so it wouldn't run out. Sue wondered what had been so bad about it.

Suddenly, Johnny started thrashing violently, groaning. Ben jumped out of his seat, shaking Johnny's shoulder, and yelling for him to wake up. A nurse hurriedly entered the room, and helped Ben wake him. Johnny's eyes snapped open, and he gasped, his eyes drifting to the IV drip that contained the pale blue serum.

"It's like you want to get me killed!" Johnny scolded, reaching towards the IV on his left arm, and ripping it out, leaving a long, bloody gash in the crook of his elbow, from which blood imminently started pouring. But the blood wasn't red. It was a pale blue, just like the serum that was being pumped into him.

The nurse that was standing by in Johnny's room rushed forward, but Johnny gasped, "No!" Sue realized what Johnny was trying to do. He wanted to bleed out as much of the serum as possible. He met her eyes, and she nodded. Johnny smiled, then closed his eyes and rested his head back on his pillow, while blue and red blood stained the white sheets. Johnny was obviously determined to get as much of it out as possible.

Eventually, the younger Storm's blood began to regain its bright red color. He had lost so much of it, and Sue knew she might have to intervene if she thought he was going to die from blood loss. His skin was extremely pale. "Johnny," she said, "I-"

"Yeah. Fine," he interrupted, "Go ahead." He waved his hand vaguely at the nurse, who rushed forward and started bandaging the wound, then attached another IV to his other arm, giving him more blood.

The nurse left, and Johnny stared off into space for a while, before saying, "I had a bad dream."

Sue looked at him with concern. "What was it?" she asked, then paused when Johnny hesitated. "You don't have to tell me."

"It's fine. I wouldn't have brought up if I didn't want to talk."

"Tell me," Sue said softly.

"I was in…in Night Vale. In the lab," he said, his voice shaking slightly as he said the name of the small desert town. "It was cold. So cold, Sue, and it was getting colder. The lights were so bright, right in my eyes. They were- I don't know what they were to doing to me, but they were all standing too close to me. Too close." Johnny put his head in his hands, and Sue sat down on the bed next to him, resting her arm around his shaking shoulders. "I was dying, but they wouldn't let me. I wanted to die, Sue, I wanted to end it, but they wouldn't let me go. I wanted to die."

Ben and Reed were silent, watching and taking everything in. This was the first time Johnny had talked about what happened in Night Vale, and Sue was beginning to understand why he was so uncomfortable with the topic. She began to wonder if her brother was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. That would explain the nightmares he had been having. He would wakeup screaming at least once a week, and Sue would come to his room to comfort him, hoping for him to describe the events of Night Vale, but he would only curl up in his bed, demanding to be left alone.

Sue hugged Johnny tightly, and he lifted his hands from his head, revealing a face wet with tears. Her heart shattered. "You're safe now, Johnny. I will never let anything happen to you again," she promised.

"You already have Sue," Johnny said.

Sue gasped. "What did I do?"

"You let them put the serum in me. It will do fine for a couple days, but then it will get colder and colder until it finally kills me."

Sue gasped, "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Because it was too late. You had already put it in me."

"But it's okay now, right? You bled it all out?"

"No. It's too late, Sue. I'm a dead man walking."

**I am so sorry that I haven't been able to update. My sister (I call her Moose sometimes) sat on my laptop, and smashed the screen. We took it somewhere to be fixed, but apparently insurance doesn't cover being crushed by a moose. I had to write this from Moose's laptop, and she doesn't let me use it often, so writing will be slow for me. I hoped you liked it. I hope you don't mind Johnny dead.**


	9. My Last Wish

_Really? Do I have to say this every time? This. Isn't. Mine._

**WARNING! This chapter contains some Human Torch/Spiderman! You can overlook it if you want to! WARNING! **

Johnny watched as Sue's had flew to her mouth. She backed away, and turned when she made it to the door, rushing from the room. Ben and Reed were silent, both examining the floor between their feet very closely. "Reed?" Johnny asked quietly, "Can you go after her? Make sure she's okay?"

Reed looked up quickly. "Yeah…" he said slowly, and then snapped out of it, "Yeah. I'll go." He left the room, leaving Ben and Johnny in uncomfortable silence.

Five more minutes passed before Johnny took a deep breath and said, "Ben? You want to say something?"

"I-I don't know, matchstick," he rumbled, "You just told us all you were dying. I don't know what we-as a team-are going to do."

"I hope you guys can keep it going. Keep saving people. Maybe you could find me a replacement, like Peter Parker or Tony Stark, but Stark is more of a solo act, so I guess the Spider is our best choice."

"You're a lot like Stark, Johnny. The only difference is that you can put up with a team."

"And that he can't set himself on fire unharmed."

Ben chuckled. "That too."

Another couple minutes passed, and Johnny looked up at Ben again. "I'm glad you're taking this so well, Pebbles. I don't think I could handle a bunch of people crying over me. Way too much pressure."

"I'm surprised you're taking this so well. You're dying. I would be terrified if I were in your position."

"I've- um… come to terms with it." Johnny lied, and Ben knew it.

"Come on kid," Ben said reassuringly, "No point in keeping secrets from me now."

Johnny didn't speak for a full two minutes before he said, "I'm scared out of my wits, Ben. I don't know how I've managed to hide it for so long. But at the same time, I'm okay with dying. Something inside of me is more than okay with death."

**-Page break-**

Sue walked out of the hospital door, shielding her eyes from the flash of cameras. Reporters were yelling distorted questions at her and it needed to stop. Now. She glared at the reporters, trying to pull one question from the mix, just so she could satisfy their hunger. "Listen!" She yelled, "You can't expect me to be able to answer any of your questions when you're all talking at the same time! Give us a couple hours, and then I'll see what we can do about a press conference."

**Four Hours Later**

It had taken some convincing, but the doctors had eventually said that Johnny could go to the press conference as long as he came back quickly. The Fantastic Four was sitting in a large conference room, with a small sea of reporters in front of them, waiting quietly for someone to start talking. Finally, Johnny stood up, putting on hand on the long table in front of him to steady himself before speaking.

"Um… hi." He said. "It's kinda' hard to know where to start, so I guess we should just start at the beginning. Three days ago-"

"Four," Sue interrupted, "You sort of missed a day after the surgery."

Johnny sighed. "Four days ago, I was hanging out in a bar and this guy attacked me. I later discovered that I had accidentally burned down his apartment and killed his little sister while I was chasing the Silver Surfer. There was a big mob of them. Of people who hate the Fantastic Four because we have made them lose something. Anyways, they-um-beat me up pretty bad and everything else until I woke up in the hospital days later is kind of fuzzy, so I'll let Sue take it for now."

The Four continued to tell the story with Ben Reed or Sue filling in when Johnny couldn't remember or wasn't awake at the time, leaving out a couple more personal things. "So the serum that they put into me is slowly killing me. I probably have two or three days until it's over for me. Any questions?"

The room exploded into voices all at once. Sue looked worriedly at Johnny whose face had paled as he sunk heavily into his chair, putting his head in his hands. Sue walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"It's started," he said. "I could feel my temperature dropping just then, and now it's official. I'm dying." He stood up shakily and looked at the crowd. "One at a time, please."

Everyone went quiet, but then one person spoke up, "Will your death mean the end of the Fantastic Four?"

"No. I hope that doesn't happen. I have actually been talking to Ben about finding a replacement one I've gone, and we're going to see if Spider Man feels like joining us." He scanned the crowd, looking for the one reporter who he knew would be there. He saw Peter Parker standing near the back, staring at Johnny in shock and confusion.

Another voice called out, "Are you in any pain?"

"I'd like to say that my death will be painless, but that would be a lie. I'm freezing to death from the inside, and yes, it is painful." The questions carried on for another half hour before Johnny excused himself, and the Four made their way out of the building.

Johnny was about to get in the car to go back to the hospital when he felt a firm hand on is shoulder. He turned around to see Peter Parker glaring at him. "Why didn't anyone tell me my best friend was in the freaking hospital?!" He yelled, getting the attention of the other three.

Johnny ignored his outburst and said in a low voice, "Are you okay with replacing me when I'm gone?"

Peter frowned. "I guess so, but I'm not really okay with you being gone in the first place, let alone replacing you."

"But you will do it?"

"Yes, hothead. Whatever you want. You are dying, so I'll give you your last wish."

"What if finding a replacement isn't my last wish?"

"What is your wish, then?"

"This," Johnny whispered. Then he pulled Peter close to him, and kissed him on the lips. Peter tensed, but then relaxed into the kissed and put his arms around Johnny. For that one blissful moment, the two were alone in the world and Johnny could feel the warmth returning to his body, but the flash of cameras brought them back to reality, and everything was cold.

Blushing, Johnny ducked into the car, leaving a shocked spider behind him.

**If you don't ship this ship, I am not sorry for writing that. I hope you don't stop reading because of this, but don't worry, the entire fic won't be like that. Only this one part. Bye!**


End file.
